The vast majority of Web users use search engines as their primary means for finding the Web information they need. Users select a search engine site and enter keywords related to the content or information they are seeking. It is common for 40% of e-content (articles, papers, reports, newsletters, etc.) sales to result from search engine traffic. This revenue growth is driven by several factors. First, visitor/customer conversion rates from search engine traffic are typically 300% higher than conversion rates from overall site traffic. For example, if the conversion rate for an e-commerce site is 1% for all traffic, the site can anticipate a 3% conversion rate from search engine driven traffic. Furthermore, demand usually increases over time. There is a compounding effect with repeat sales. Once customers have found a site, they often go directly to the site's URL instead of starting with a search engine.
To increase search engine traffic, most e-content publishers or providers attempt to market based on site keywords and phrases. Site keywords or phrases describe in general terms the content that is accessible from the site. Some providers complete a keyword analysis to identify additional keywords or phrases to include in their site description. While these efforts may result in some increase in traffic, they are not sufficient for several reasons. First, the web page structure is not search engine “crawlable” such that search engines can locate the page and analyze its content. Second, the site keywords or phrases do not appear in the locations within the web page that search engines are likely to analyze. Appropriate placement of keyword and phrases is an important factor in determining a web site search engine ranking. Finally, even if the provider creates web pages with appropriate structure and keywords/phrases, they become outdated quickly because search engine ranking methodologies change frequently. Because search engine ranking methodologies change, it is important to analyze and update web page structures and keyword phrase placement to respond to these changes in methodologies.
E-content publishers and providers that do not take full advantage of ubiquitous search engine inquiries to drive traffic to their site are missing an important ingredient for generating qualified site traffic. E-content publishers or providers with e-commerce sites already in place often cannot leverage search engine optimization (SEO—also known as search engine marketing or search engine placement) techniques to drive site traffic because their site architecture does not support an on-going SEO process. Effectively driving search engine traffic can have a profound impact on e-content publishers' web content sales.